Blind Ambition

There are no barriers in the field of music, says Nobuyuki Nobu Tsujii, the Japanese classical pianist who tied for first place at the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Texas two years ago.

Born blind, Tsujii had it a little harder than other child musicians. But like Stevie Wonder and Andrea Bocelli before him, he wasnt deterred by the lack of sheet music in Braille or the roadblocks imposed by society. By the time Tsujii reached 21, hed performed at Carnegie Hall and was featured in TIME Magazine, which compared his popularity to that of pop star Justin Bieber by saying that the pianists fans have Nobu Fever.